CSUF men’s basketball loses to Sacramento State in overtime

CSUF men’s basketball found itself in a seesaw battle that went down to the wire against Sacramento State, losing in overtime 87-82 on Saturday.

The Titans have lost their second game in a row, finding just one win during the five-game road trip.

Coming off a 80-71 loss to Hofstra University on Wednesday, CSUF men’s basketball was in a position to right the ship going into Saturday’s contest versus Sacramento State.

A jumper by Jackson Rowe gave the Titans a 14-7 lead early to begin the game, capping off a 7-0 run by Fullerton.

Even though CSUF was on a roll early on in the game, Sacramento State was able to establish a run of its own.

The Hornets headed to the locker room during halftime leading by 5, thanks to a 10-point streak.

Sacramento received a lot of help from the bench who made 29 points, with 14 of them coming from forward Ethan Esposito.

Despite being second in the Big West for 3-pointers made, the well went dry for the Titans against the Hornets from behind the arc as they attempted 19 shots but were only able to make two.

CSUF was able to rely on the scoring prowess of its most experienced players, Kyle Allman and Khalil Ahmad for the beginning of this season.

The senior duo, however, combined for 25 points on seven field goals made.

Aside from Rowe’s 17 points, Fullerton found offense from an unlikely source.

Johnny Wang, a two-year forward from China who is averaging 3.5 points per game this season, had a career night in a reserve role for the Titans.

Wang scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field in 17 minutes of play.

The Hornets capitalized on CSUF’s mistakes as they scored 21 second chance points compared to the Titans’ 8 points. They also outhustled the Titans on the glass as they snagged 17 of its 33 rebounds on the offensive end.

CSUF will play at home for the first time in three weeks when it hosts Cal Lutheran on Saturday, Dec. 1.

The most recent game between these two teams was last season when the Titans defeated the Kingsmen 86-58 behind Allman’s 22 points.

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